Markets Update: Cryptocurrency Valuations Gain Billions in One Day

Two days ago, cryptocurrency bulls were attempting to break strong resistance and managed to push digital asset values to much higher price regions. The price of bitcoin core (BTC) was averaging $6,740 per BTC during the early morning trading sessions on July 17, then the digital currency spiked to $7,300 a few hours later. Then again, BTC touched a high of $7,546 gaining over $800 over the course of the day. Digital currency prices, in general, followed BTC’s path as most of the top cryptocurrencies gained 10-20 percent in 24-hours.

Crypto-Bulls Return But Will They Run Out of Steam?

The crypto-bulls are back, at least for time being, bringing most of the top digital assets back into the green after months of bearish sentiment. Most of the digital currencies are seeing gains between 10-20 percent but some coins like Stellar are up well over 30 percent today. The overall market capitalization of all 1600+ assets on July 18, is hovering around $296Bn with 24-hour trade volume around $20Bn. Cryptocurrency trade volumes across the boards have spiked considerably since our last markets update two days ago.

Bitcoin Core (BTC) Markets

Bitcoin core (BTC) market action has seen 24-hour trade volume jump from $4.4Bn on Monday to $6.6Bn today. Currently, BTC/USD is valued at approximately $7,435 per BTC. At the time of publication, the entire BTC market valuation is roughly $127Bn and BTC commands the top trade volume out of all the top markets. The top exchanges swapping the most bitcoin core today include Bitflyer, Coinbene, Bitfinex, Binance, and Fcoin. The Japanese yen is the most traded pair today with BTC capturing 54 percent of global trades. This is followed by tether (USDT 26.5%), USD (13.6%), EUR (2%), and the KRW (1.4%). Bitcoin dominance among the entire list of market capitalizations is approximately 43 percent at the time of publication.

BTC/USD Technical Indicators

Looking at the daily, 30-minute, and 4-hour BTC/USD charts on Bitstamp and Coinbase shows BTC reversed trends after completing an inverse head & shoulders pattern. Right now, looking at the two Simple Moving Averages (SMA), the short term 100 SMA is now well above the 200 SMA trendline. This gap indicates the path of least resistance is toward the upside for the time being. The MACd looks maxed out and may head southbound while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering above 86 showing overbought conditions. With this being said, a jump to the $8K region may not be in the cards, at least for today. Order books show resistance is strong between $7600 to $8K so BTC bulls will have to overtake this area. On the backside, if bears took control, which seems unlikely, there is strong foundational support all the way back to $6,400.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Markets

Bitcoin cash (BCH) markets are also doing very well this Wednesday as the currency now captures a $14.5Bn market capitalization. Trade volume for BCH has increased since our last report as well by doubling to $794Mn over the last 24-hours. The top exchanges by BCH trade volume today include Okex, Binance, Bitfinex, Coinex, and Bigone. The top currency swapped with BCH on July 18 is tether (USDT) at 42.6 percent. Following tether is BTC (27.5%), USD (17.5%), KRW (3.5%), and ETH (2.5%). Bitcoin cash holds the fifth highest trade volumes today on global exchanges.

BCH/USD Technical Indicators

Right now, looking at BCH/USD daily, 30-minute, and 4-hour charts on Bitfinex and Bitstamp shows BCH has a price average of around $869 per coin. Just like two days ago, the SMA trendlines show the long-term 200 SMA is still above the 100 SMA indicating the path to least resistance is towards the downside. However, this gap is shrinking and it looks like the two will cross hairs soon. MACd touched a high and is heading southbound at the moment and BCH RSI levels are around 73 right now. This means conditions are overbought but not as much as the BTC/USD charts. Order books are large on both sides and BCH bulls need to muster up the strength to surpass the current vantage point to $925, after that they will face less resistance. Looking at the buy side shows some solid foundations between now and the $740 zone.

The Verdict: Steady Flow of Market Optimism

Overall, things are looking good for cryptocurrency markets but prices may retract in the short term so bulls can gather more steam and keep the upward momentum going strong. Other digital currency markets that have done significantly better than BTC and BCH include EOS, XLM, ADA, and Doge. The infamous dog-meme cryptocurrency is up 60 percent over the past seven days and 32 percent over the past 24 hours.

The verdict this week shows a steady flow of optimism stemming from cryptocurrency proponents and traders. A good portion of traders on social media channels believe brighter days are ahead and the bullish reversal will continue at least up until the bitcoin-based ETF decision in August.

Where do you see the price of BCH, BTC, and other coins headed from here? Let us know in the comments below.

Disclaimer:Price articles and markets updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not to be considered as trading advice. NeitherBitcoin.comnor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.”